Sound Off

Sound Off

June 30, 1995

Thursday's question: Should we have the right to burn the flag?

YES: 46

It's not a matter of whether you have a right to burn the flag, it's should there be a constitutional amendment forbidding it. ... The burning of a piece of cloth is not a big problem, so stop cluttering up the Constitution and leave it alone. ... They can burn the flag, just as soon as they're settled in whatever foreign country they're gonna move to. ... The question forces people to vote yes, but I'm opposed to sticking every little stinking thing into the Constitution. ... It's more important to preserve the freedoms that are protected in the Bill of Rights than the flag which represents those freedoms. ... It's the Constitution that is sacred, not the flag.

NO: 108

We take some rights far too far. ... Flag burning is disrespectful and un-American. It is not an act of freedom of speech it is an act of vandalism. ... That's the problem with this country today: No one respects anything anymore. ... As a veteran I served my country under the Stars and Stripes and I had better never see some scumbag burning it. ... There's freedom of speech but we need to have morals, symbols and loyalty for this country, otherwise we don't have a country. Unlike other countries, we have the freedom to leave this country if we're not happy. If you're not happy, pack your bags and leave. ... It's about time we started saying these are your rights and they go no further than this.